The Hell that is my Life
Aria Blaze sighed as she entered the Taco Loco, flinching in annoyance as the clutter of bells rang overhead to signal that someone had just entered the building. Grr, it was so annoying. Just like nearly everything else in this world ruled by stupid humans.
Honestly, she felt like she was in some sort of hell most of the time.
Grumbling to herself, the purple skinned siren made her way to the counter with her phone in hand. Thankfully there was no line; either because the lunch rush had not started yet or this place was still the same lame pit stain that it had been when she briefly worked here. Maybe a little of both. Whatever. Who cared? All that mattered right now was that she could get something pathetic to eat without wasting too much of her time and using their Wi-Fi in peace.
“Hey Aria, welcome to Taco Loco!” came an all too cheerful voice that nearly caused Aria to drop her phone. Not even bothering to fight the urge to roll her eyes Aria looked up from her mobile device to see her sister standing there behind the counter. Unlike the others who were working there, all of whom were wearing black shirts with the Taco Loco symbol on them, Sonata was wearing a white button up shirt that she miraculously managed to button without getting her fingers stuck in them like the idiot she was. On her shirt was a golden name tag which had her name (duh), but that was smaller as the work ‘Manager’ took up the majority of the tag. Aria also noted the clean and freshly ironed black pants she was sporting as well.
“Ah great,” grumbled Aria as she brought a hand to her forehead. Great, just great. This was just what she needed. “What are you doing there?”
“One of my girls called in sick,” answered Sonata cheerfully, her smiling beaming in contrast to Aria’s dour expression. “So I’m helping everyone out!”
“Of course you are,” Aria grumbled again as she felt her shoulders and back slump. Her toes curled at the sight of that smile. How the hell could she possible be that happy?!? They were stuck in this miserable world, ruled over by creatures whose greatest accomplishment was social media! That’s it. To make matters worse, they had been stuck in the bodies of teenagers which at times wasn’t that bad…until the times changed. Suddenly, they were too young to get decent paying jobs and instead had to settle with paying ones. Social Security was a nightmare and they had to find the seediest places just to rent an apartment, placing that didn’t care who you were as long as you paid. And if that wasn’t bad enough, stupid governments created those dumb laws that said they were ‘too young’ to smoke or drink. All that was bad, but when they lost their powers it became so much worse. So how could that moron smile like that?
Maybe people were right when they said ‘ignorance was bliss’.
After letting out a sigh Aria reached into her pocket to pull out the few dollar bills she had as well as a number of coins. Not enough for a full meal. Damn! Why did these prices have to be so high? She could remember a time when this could get her a burger, fries, soft drink, and still have enough for dessert. Dumb humans. Looking up, she noticed Sonata looking at the small amount of money in her hand, her smile dropping ever slightly.
“Let’s see,” mumbled Aria as her looked up at the menu. “I guess I’ll have two of your cinnamon swirls…and a cup of tap water. That is still free, right?”
“Yep,” replied Sonata, quickly placing her order. “That’ll be $2.01 please.” Quickly Aria placed the bills on the counter near Sonata followed swiftly by placing a single copper coin on top of it. Seriously? Two dollars and one cent? At least she didn’t have to wait long as Sonata took the money and, with remarkable speed for someone as dumb as her, placed a tray right in front of her.
“There you go,” said Sonata as she closed her eyes and gave her another smile. “I hope you enjoy your meal!” Aria said nothing as she looked down at what she had paid for. The cinnamon swirls were in child sized wrapping, looking like they barely held more than ten of each overly cinnamon flavor stick! Just looking at it was almost enough to make her sneer in sheer disgust, wishing she had just found a vending machine and bought something from that! At the very least her stomach didn’t growl or anything cliché as that, since she was hungry.
Without so much as a word of thanks, because really who in their right mind would thank anyone for crap like this, Aria moved away from the counter and found a spot for herself in the corner of the restaurant. Once she sat down, the former siren leaned back against the seat while letting out a sigh as her eyes looked up at the ceiling. As she sat there, a hand went to her pocket where it felt the money card Cinch had given her when she joined. Thanks to this card, she could buy pretty much whatever she wanted without worrying about pesky people tracing it or crap like that. Well, unless you were Cinch or Adagio that is. Cinch would know what she bought and where while Adagio would always find out somehow. And if Adagio ever found out she had stopped here she would be in for a big headache.
Groaning aloud, Aria sat up to look blankly at her ‘food’. It was sure to be too sweet for her tastes as well as unfulfilling. But ordering something else wasn’t worth the headache. As for just going someplace else, well, it wasn’t worth the effort. And it would defeat the purpose of coming here.
Resting an elbow on the counter, Aria pulling out her phone and pulled up MyStable. So much delicious gossip and misery was already afloat, reminding her of the days when she and her sisters would devour it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. While that sort of thing would no longer sustain her, there was an odd pleasure that could be derived from it. Looking at all those people spreading their woes and hate was one of the few pleasures Aria had left in this miserable world. The only thing that could ever top it was adding to it. And it was so easy to do that. With a glance, she could see one of her ‘friends’ posting messages.
Growl: I can’t believe this! My VP is a total bitch!
Aria licked her lips. She knew who ‘Growl’ was in real life, just not by name. He was a student at that dump where she and her sister lost their powers. A few years younger than she was, closer to Snails’ age. The only time they had ever been face to face was in the cafeteria, though he probably had forgotten all about her. It had been brief after all. Well, better find out what was going on and seeing if she could make it worse.
Diva: What happened?
Growl: I got weekend detention AGAIN! All I did was push a couple of people out of the way so I could FINALLY get a chance to duel in the new stadium. But no. No, I’m cut out again because she’s all sweat on this shrimp in my class.
Diva: Favoritism. It’s a bitch. I get ya dude.
Growl: He’s not even that good! I could beat him without even using my extra deck.
Diva: Don’t take this lying down. Stand up for yourself
Growl: Tried. The VP and P are related so they look out for each other. Tried talking to my parents, but they won’t listen. They’re all ‘It’s just a game’ and ‘No reason to act that way’. As if they had any idea how I felt! Not even my brother will help me.
Aria grinned. Oh, this was too easy. ‘Growl’ already seemed at his wits end right now and that self entitled attitude made him suck easy prey. So sure he was in the right. So sure he was the victim in all of this. Yeah, this was going to be easy to help make his world a living hell. All she had to do was give him a push in the ‘right’ direction and he was sure to spread so much hostility. Her only regret was that she wouldn’t be there to see it.
Diva: You have a duel disk, right? Challenge the kid and embarrass him in front of the school! That’ll teach him.
Growl: *Sigh* Wish it were that easy. Last time I tried, this loser named Scoots got in the way. She’s been ticking me off because she thinks she’s got the better winged beast deck. It’s lame.
Diva: That excuse is lame. Dude, if her deck really is lame then challenge her as well. Put her in her place! You do have the better deck, right?
Growl: OF COURSE I DO!
Diva: Then show them who’s boss! Go to the shrimp and challenge him to a duel. If Scoots gets in the way then say ‘Fine, I’ll duel you first as a warm up before I mop the floor with your boyfriend!’ If she tries to back down, mock the hell out of her until she feels like crap! If they go to the VP, attack the kids manhood or lack thereof. Heck, you could even spread some nasty rumors about them.
There was no response. At least, not right away. Either her words were sinking in or he was trying to come up with another excuse not to duel them. Not like it mattered to Aria in the least since there would be misery no matter what this kid did. He could duel them and win causing the two to feel like shit, hopefully resulting in some sort of high school teen drama that would end in a battle with fists. That or the VP got involved and all of them got into trouble. Or he could lose, his pride shattering to thousands of tiny pieces. Heck, even if he did nothing his self loathing would begin to eat him away from the inside. Ah, it was some wonderful. Who needed magic when these social media platforms allowed her to do the same thing without needing to hit a single note?
Reaching towards her food Aria frowned as she realized that both bags of cinnamon swirls were all gone. Great, just great! Barely enough to fill the belly of a toddler. Maybe she should have stayed with this dead end, loser job just so she could make people miserable with their over inflated prices for lame food that would no doubt cause those same idiots to gain body image issues. Heck, she could have tried to become a CEO and really make people’s lives a living hell!
“Hey Aria,” came Sonata’s cheerful voice, nearly causing Aria to let out the loudest groan of the day. With one thumb, she minimized her MyStable app before looking up at her annoying stupid sister. She was standing there with a tray in her hands along with a large smile. “I brought you your food.”
“I didn’t order anything else,” she grumbled.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Sonata, dismissively. “It’s on me.”
For a moment, Aria could only stare wide eyed at her sister feeling…touched by this kind gesture. Even after she had done nothing to prevent her from being kicked out of their apartment, she was still willing to do this? However, that moment came and went as her bored/annoyed expression returned. “You know I hate tacos,” she said as looked down at her phone again. With the swipe of her thumb, she brought up Taco Loco’s website ready to give this dive a nasty, one star review.
“Then why are you here?” asked Sonata who either didn’t see Aria pressing the single star symbol or was too dumb to know what she was doing.
Aria paused for a moment so she could roll her eyes. “Because Adagio hates this place,” explained Aria in a tone that one would usual find in an adult speaking to a child. “She’d rather saw off both her legs than to come within a mile of this dump. So I figured it would be the perfect place for me to go to get some space from here.”
“Oh,” said Sonata, blinking slightly at that before her smile reappeared. “Well don’t worry, I got you this instead.” Aria’s attention was caught once more, looking up just in time to see Sonata set the tray in front of her. On it were two burritos, a side of nacho chips dripping with hot melted cheese, and a lemon lime soda.
“Ahh, aren’t burritos just,” Aria began, ready to complain. However, it suddenly just felt like too much work to complain. And really, she was getting free food from her idiot sister. She would have to be dumber than Sonata to reject this outright. So, setting the phone down, Aria pulled the tray closer to her. “Never mind.”
“So,” said Sonata as she pulled out the chair across from Aria and sat down, the bored Siren not even looking up as she picked up her food and began to eat it. “How are you and Adagio doing? Did you both find another job?”
Aria paused for a moment to give her sister her classic annoyed look. “Why do you care?” she asked.
“Well I passed by your apartment not too long ago,” began Sonata as she leaned onto the table, crossing her arms while resting both her elbows on the wooden/plastic surface. “I wanted to remind you both that you hadn’t returned your uniforms and that’s why you hadn’t gotten your final paycheck. I would have called, but Adagio hasn’t been answering my calls. But when I got there, no one would answer no matter how long I knocked. Then I talked to the landlord who told me that you two were long gone.” She paused, looking down at the table. As she continued to talk, her voice became less cheerful. “To be honest, it kind of freaked me out a little. Even though you both kicked me out, I was worried. I didn’t know where you were staying, what you were doing for money.”
Swallowing was becoming harder for Aria as Sonata continued to talk. She felt, well, bad for some reason. Bad enough to slowly set her food down on her tray, her gaze fixed on the table between them. Even after how things went down the last time they were face to face, she was worried about them? Wanted to check up on them? After centuries of verbal abuse she should have been happy to never see them again! At least, that’s how Aria believed she would feel if their places had been reversed. The more she thought about it, the more this unsettling feeling inside her began to grow until Aria picked up her drink hoping to drown it out with some discount soda pop.
“We’re not doing too bad,” said Aria, speaking while her teeth were between the straw. “I mean, we’re not living in a four story mansion but we’re also not living in a van down by the river. Just watching my money a bit more.” She then looked up to give Sonata a meaningful look. “I mean, we can’t all be freeloading in the house of one of the Rainbooms.”
“Oh,” said Sonata as she seemed to shrink in her seat a little. “You know about that?”
“Yeah,” said Aria gruffly, setting her drink down and picking up her burrito again. “Adagio went ballistic when she found out. It was amusing for a bit, but got old after the first hour of her ranting and raving.”
“She does know that that’s not the same Twilight, right?” asked Sonata in a defensive tone. “They only look alike, but I think she’s a lot better and smarter than the pony princess who zapped us. Twilight’s even helping me with some of my homework. Thanks to her, I got a C+ on my last Lit test. I would have gotten a B-…but I did sort of mention how we were the sirens who tried to sink Odyssey’s ship and the teacher thought I started writing my fanfiction into the test.”
At that Aria rolled her eyes. “Look it doesn’t-” she began but stopped herself when she noticed something that Sonata was wearing. It was a pendent one that looked like an ocean green teardrop. And it was only now, as she sat there looking at it, that she could feel the Equestrian magic practically rolling off of it.
For what seemed like forever, Aria just sat there staring at it. How?!? How in the world did this idiot get her hands on more Equestrian magic? Did that other Twilight create it for her? No, she would have heard something thanks to that virus she and Adagio had planted into the girl genius’ computer. There was no way Cinch would have kept that to herself, she would have tried to duplicate whatever Twilight would have done. And Adagio would have exploded, blasting off to the moon in her anger. So, how did she get it? The obvious answer was that she found it, but somehow that answer left a bad taste in her mouth. She and the others were working hard, busting their asses to hunt magic only for this airhead to have it drop in her lap! Not to mention that the Rainbooms now seemed to trust her with it! After all, as dumb as the Rainbooms were, they did have a few slightly smarter members of their group that would notice the magic around that girl’s neck. Like Twilight who created the magic tracking device! So yeah, they had to know that she had magic.
But one thing did bother her about this. Cinch had to know that Sonata now had a magical item on hand. So why didn’t she mention it? Could it be that she was waiting to find out more information on it before they made a plan…or was she keeping this piece of information to herself?
Sonata was saying something, but Aria wasn’t really paying attention right now. Instead she pushed her doubts about Cinch to the side for now as she began to consider her options…which weren’t many. She could reach out and grab it before making a break for it. Only she knew that was a stupid plan. There were cameras in the store that would catch her in the act and the police would be called. Sure it would be for something they would consider small time, but theft was theft and she didn’t want to look over her shoulder for the police whenever she went out. Or the Rainbooms since they would no doubt try everything in their power to find her. And that was only if she could get out. For all she knew, that pendent gave Sonata the power to slow her down, invert her perception of reality, or turn her into a candy bar!
“Aria? Aria?” The former siren blinked as the world around her returned to the forefront of her attention. She gazed at Sonata who, thankfully, hadn’t noticed what she had been staring at.
“What were you saying?” asked Aria quickly, leaning back into her seat. Taking a small breath, she slowly began to relax. She needed time to think. There was no need to rush this.
“I was just wondering what you and Adagio were doing now,” said Sonata, an awkward smile on her face.
Arai paused for a moment, before she answered. “We got a job in the collection business,” she replied. There was no reason to tell her the whole truth, but no reason to lie either. It would be the best thing for her if they ever met up again so that she didn’t need to keep her lies straight.
“You mean like stamps?” asked the airhead as she blinked. “I don’t think you’ll be able to make a lot of money unless you find a really rare one.” Aria fought back a groan, almost slapping her forehead.
“No you moron,” she growled before taking a breath. “Not that kind of collection. Basically our boss sends us out to find something she’s looking for and we get paid when we bring it back.” Sonata opened her mouth to say something, but Aria’s phone began to buzz thus saving her from what was no doubt a stupid question. Looking down at her phone, she saw that it was Snails sending her a simple text: Adagio is looking for you. Aria’s shoulders slumped as she read this, setting her phone down on the table. Great, just great. No doubt Adagio was going through her tiny room right now trying to find her or searching their ‘home’ for any traces of her. Sooner or later their ‘leader’ would realize she wasn’t there and would begin texting her as well. At least Snails had warned her of the upcoming headache. It didn’t mean she could avoid it, but she could prepare for it.
At least, that’s what she had hoped for. Moments later her phone began to buzz again and she knew who it was without looking at the name. Adagio wanted her back now, texting her in all capitals with no explanation why. As if she were a dog, being ordered around like some sort of dog. At first, Aria saw fit to just ignore the text only for Adagio to send another one. Then another one. And another. And another. And another.
“This better be important,” muttered Aria under her breath, quickly texting Adagio that she would be there as soon as she could. After she set her phone back down the girl began cramming what was left of her burrito into her mouth.
“Is everything ok?” asked Sonata, looking worried again.
“It’s nothing,” replied Aria after swallowing. She then picked up her drink, quickly taking a big gulp before letting out a sigh. Ok, Sonata did something right with that drink. “Work is calling. I’d better get going.”
Sonata smiled as she stood up before Aria could. “Let me get you some to-go boxes and a bag.” Surprised by this, Aria could only sit there as Sonata left before her eyes became half lidded once more. Looking down, she pulled up the screen where she had begun to give this dump a poor review. Seconds ticked by as she looked at the single lit star she had pressed which seemed to grow bigger the longer she stared at it. Then, she looked up at the food she had been given for free by the airhead whom she had always insulted, never defended causing that odd feeling to return to her chest. After returning to phone Aria let out a sigh before she pressed the third star causing three to light up and then hitting accept without writing a thing down.
And, as she did, that odd feeling went away.
-x-
“Where have you been?!” roared Adagio, her hands flying in the air. Next to her was that fat shrimp named Snips, who nodded in an almost sycophantic way with an annoying smirk on his face. Off to the side was one of their newer members, Vignette, who had her back against the steel wall and her head downcast.
“I needed some air and time to myself,” replied Aria as she stepped out of the elevator and into the secret hidden lair found beneath the old Victorian house in the middle of the woods. The Taco Loco bag Sonata had given her being discarded after she had finished with the food, the bag tossed into the woods along with all the other litter and crap that could be found out there. In her mouth was a breath mint which she sucked, hoping it would overpower the odor of her breath. Or, at the very least, help mask what she had been eating. The last thing she needed was for Adagio to get on her case.
As she folded her arms, looking at Adagio with her usual uncaring look, Aria noticed someone sitting off to the side in front of one of the large computer work stations. It was Snails. He was just sitting there, saying nothing and doing nothing except looking straight ahead. One might have thought he was deep in thought, pondering something complex by the way he just sat there not paying any attention to what was going on. Only the people in the room knew that wasn’t the case. Snails was a person who just didn’t think: period! He was like a younger, male Sonata. Only he talked less so that made a level above the airhead in Aria’s opinion.
“Come on,” said Vignette with a groan. “You called us all here for a reason. Can we please get on with it?”
Adagio shot Aria another look before turning around. “Fine, follow me. We need to have a little chat with Cinch” she ordered. With that she stormed off, Snips following at her heels while looking up at her in the same way a puppy looked at its master. It was just so sickening!
Aria only took a few steps before she paused and looked over at Snails. “Hey, Snails, get moving,” she said. At that Snails jumped out of his seat as though it had suddenly been electrocuted. Panting he finally noticed the room around him, as well as the people now leaving.
“What’s going on?” he asked dumbly as he walked towards Aria.
“I don’t know,” she said glumly as she followed the crowd, sticking to the rear. “Could be another Adagio power trip or something. And, to be honest, I really don’t care.” Snails made a noise but nothing more as the two followed the others down the metal corridors.
The group quickly made their way deeper into the facility, moving past a group of metal doors which lead into their ‘rooms’. A term Aria used lightly. She had no idea what this place was originally meant for. A secondary, offsite work station or a place to hold up during the zombie apocalypse. But whatever the case was, they skimped on the living spaces. All of their rooms, minus Cinch’s, were small things where the bed took up the majority of the room. At the very least, the dressers were the kind built into the wall kind so as to not take up more space. Honestly, they reminded her of those tiny cabins on cruise ships for the lowest of the low passengers.
At the end of the hallway was a doorway which Adagio opened without knocking. Light flooded inside the dark room, revealing Cinch standing over a fallen Twilight Sparkle. At first, Cinch didn’t seem to notice this intrusion, just standing there with her arms crossed and a duel disk attached to one wrist. As for Twilight, there seemed to be blood coming down from one of her lips as she reached out with one arm towards the former principal, her dueling cards scattered around her with a few looking like they had been set on fire.
Cinch, who had been looking pleased with herself, suddenly frowned as she turned to look at the girls who had entered the room. “It is good manners to knock before entering,” she said in a stern voice, eyes narrowing at Adagio in particular.
“Sorry to interrupt you imaginary puppy kicking session,” said Adagio as she stormed into the room. “But this is important. So I’m going to need your full attention for this.” Aria watched as her sister stood in front of Cinch, their gazes focused on the others in a deadlock. For some time, the two just stood there as if in some battle of wills. It was Cinch that eventually pulled away first, either submitting to Adagio or she just didn’t see the point in continuing. Regardless, the woman pulled out a small remote from her pocket before pressing a single button on it. In an instant, the Twilight on the ground exploded into thousands of golden lights. The same kind that duel monster holograms turned into when they were destroyed. A second later, light filled the room.
“For your information, I was practicing for the inevitable moment when I duel my former student once again,” said Cinch as she brought her hands behind her back, holding herself up high as she looked down at Adagio. “I will not allow a repeat of what happened back at Camp Everfree to occur once again.”
“Heh, like I need it,” scoffed Adagio as she gave Cinch a smug look. “I’m not the person who lost to a Genex deck.”
Aria felt her eye twitch as Cinch let out an angry noise. “Is there a reason why we’re here?” demanded the purple siren. “Because if you called us all here just to watch you pick a fight with Cinch, then I’m out.”
“Same,” groaned Vignette. “By the way you were pounding at my door; I thought something big had happened.”
“Something big did happen!” Adagio shouted at the two of them before rounding on Cinch. “That movie girl I’ve been following, Juniper, well, we just lost her.”
Cinch brought a hand up to her chin, looking like she was trying to remember something in a very dramatic fashion. “Juniper. Hmm. If I recall correctly, she was the one who had the magic mirror for a short time.”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” said Adagio, now fuming as she began to walk around in the holographic dueling room. As she paced, her arms would fly up into the air from time to time as the others watched. “I’ve been following her, waiting for the right moment to approach her for days now. Make her the offer to get her magic back, to get back everything she lost if she helped us. And if she refused, she could have been the perfect test subject in that magical extraction chamber you’ve been working on.” Aria’s eyes widened by the tiniest bit when she heard this. Magical extraction chamber? She hadn’t heard of that before. And by the looks of the others, neither had they.
“Wait, what’s this about magical extraction?” demanded Vignette.
Cinch coughed into her fist. “It was supposed to be my secret,” she said in a tired voice, shooting a glare at Adagio before turning to the other. “As the name implies, it’s a specialized chamber that is meant to remove all lingering traces of magic from an individual. Using Ms. Juniper as an example, we are aware that when her mirror was at full power she underwent a transformation not unlike how that former student of mine transformed. While her transformation was brief, it still altered her on a level, perhaps cellular, atomic, or even some form we have yet to discover. Something that invasive would no doubt leave traces, small bits of magic that we could extract more easily than dueling our opponents. It is my belief that there is a possibility that traces of the magic that altered her form could still be in her to some degree. Thus, this chamber will forcibly extract that magic so that it can be stored until we can put it to a more proper use.”
“Ah, what happens to whoever goes in that thing?” asked Snails, showing a rare display of insight.
“Right now, that is unknown,” said Cinch as her gaze fell upon Snips, Snails…and Aria! While Aria continued to look at Cinch with her normal, uncaring appearance the purple siren could feel sweat forming slightly on her brow. It was taking a real effect not to clench her fists or even to take a step back. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that neither Snips nor Snails had grasped what the woman was implying. But Vignette, she understood judging by the calm and almost smirking expression on her face. Both of the boys in their group had been transformed into winged minions back when they were toddies to Sunset Shimmer. As for Aria, she was a creature who came from Equestria and transformed a few different times. The last time, at the Battle of the Bands, as she allowed the magic to flow into herself. They were possible test subjects to be used. That’s why none of them had been told about this. Except…
But she knew, thought Aria as her focus shifted to Adagio. Her sister was standing behind Cinch now with a look that screamed cruelty while her eyes danced between the three. Cinch must have told her all about this back when we first came here! But why did she let that out? Now we’ll be on our guard!
“I do plan on testing it out on that vile thing that my former student calls a pet,” continued Cinch as she turned away from the group, no staring at the wall. “That creature still contains magic, and it will help us immensely to discover if we can simply extract more stable magic through more direct means. If it works, we will then have the means to drain all of Equestria of its magic thus making all of us more powerful. Still, testing this on someone who only has lingering traces would be a boon before that as a sample to see if it works. That and we will know if it is worth our time to hunt down all of those whose forms had changed.” Cinch then paused as she turned around to look at the three of them again. “However, with that said, I would prefer not to use any of our members on a test which might prove costly to their…well being.”
“Unless, of course, they’re not pulling their weight,” added Adagio. Now, Aria couldn’t help but clench her fist tightly for a moment. So, that was why she brought it up. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue, but rather to motivate them all into not failing. A threat which would hang over all their heads.
“I would not get so cocky if I were you Adagio,” said Cinch sternly as she rounded on the girl, causing Adagio to take a step back. “You said that we lost Juniper. How exactly did you allow that to happen?”
For a moment, Adagio seemed taken aback as she was now on the hot seat. As if she thought that she was somehow immune only to be proven wrong. Yet, an instant later, she was back to her usual form. “It wasn’t my fault,” Adagio snapped as she pointed a finger into Cinch’s chest. “It was that other girl we’re been trailing: Starlight Glimmer. She used her magic on Juniper, taking control of her body or whatever to rob the movie theater where she worked. Dumb girl then fought that Rarity girl, lost, and got her ass hauled off by the police.”
Cinch nodded as she moved away from Adagio, walking over to a panel on the wall. “Yes, that girl has been using her magic more and more lately. No doubt testing her limits. Making bolder moves.”
“Are we going to get her?” asked Snips, punching his palm with his fist. “We know where she is, right?”
Adagio rolled her eyes. “Of course we know where she is,” said the siren. “That stupid girl thinks she’s smart enough to do all of this without being noticed. But I’ve seen her every time she’s used her magic in Canterlot and followed her back to her hotel room several times now. Bet she isn’t even aware of us.” Adagio then gestured to Aria and the others. “That’s why we’re all here right now. We know where she is and, from what I can see, beating those losers she defeated in duels frees them. So I say we strike her hotel, freeing all her mind slaves before dueling her and taking away her magic. That’ll teach her for messing with our plans.”
“Alright!” cheered Snips as she punched a fist into the air. “That sounds-”
“Leave her be for now,” said Cinch, her back facing all of them again.
Adagio blinked at this before placing her hands on her hips, an angry look appearing on her face. “Excuse me? Leave that pain in the ass alone? She’s messing up with our plans, alone, and-”
“And can serve as a good distraction for the Rainbooms,” interrupted Cinch as she began to press buttons on a keyboard sticking out of the wall. “Currently, they are unaware of what we are up to. Something that I would prefer stayed that way until we’re ready to make our big move. But if that Starlight girl really did take control of Juniper, then the Rainbooms will focus their attention on her. After all, they will want to help out their friend so their attention will be fixated on that. Hopefully anything we do will be laid at the feet of Starlight. We could, if such a situation ever arose, use her as a scapegoat should we ever get caught. Simply claim that we were being controlled after losing a duel.”
“Yeah, and if she ever becomes too powerful?” asked Vignette, taking a step forward. At her words, Cinch stopped her typing yet didn’t turn around as if to give their newest member her say. “Like, I get where you’re coming from. But FYI, she can control people. What happens when she manages to take control of an army of people, using them as a shield to like wear us down or whatever?”
“I am not saying we don’t keep an eye on her,” said Cinch flatly as she returning to her typing. “We will keep a close eye on her and, if she is getting too powerful, we end her there. That or we can use the Rainbooms as cannon fodder for her mind controlled slaves.” Cinch seemed to finish what she was working on, pressing a final button before the image of a teenage girl with a scar on her eye appeared as a hologram in the middle of the room causing everyone to jump back a little. “Starlight is not the only one at play right now. The girl named Tempest is on the move as well. For now, we shall allow her to do as she pleases as long as it does not hinder our goals. Like Starlight, Tempest will serve as a suitable distraction while we find more Equestrian magic.”
“I don’t like it,” said Adagio as she crossed her arms. “We know they have magic. We should just take them out now before they become a headache. As it stands, we barely have any. The only one of us who has collected any is me. If we don’t get a move on we’ll lose it all!”
“As much as I hate to say this, you have a point,” said Cinch as she walked into the middle of the room. “Thankfully, I have located a new magical source. Or, at least I believe I have. Your opinion on the matter would help expedite the process.”
Adagio’s smug, superior expression returned while the image of Tempest vanished. A moment later, the room changed entirely. One moment, they were in an empty room of steel and iron walls to what looked like an old-time, indoor flea market. No, that wasn’t quite right. As Aria looked around she saw that this was just a cheap looking pawn shop. Several of the aisles were filled with people’s trash which some poor idiot thought could make him a quick buck. VHS tapes, old toys, baby clothes, musical instruments, and even guns were lined up, seeming at random.
Then, people appeared near a glass counter. Two of them. One was a man in a black suit, an expensive looking one at that. Judging by the solid gold buttons and the gold watch he had on his wrist, he was clearly loaded. So why was he in this dingy shop? Aria’s eyes moved over to the other man, standing behind the counter. He was a yellow skinned man with red hair that had a white streak in it as well as a red mustache. By the way he dressed, he looked more like one of those old barbershop singers (or just a barber in general) than a man who would own someplace like this.
“Seems my tip was wrong,” said the rich man, still looking down at the glass counter. Aria moved just a little bit so that she could see what he was looking at. Duel Monster cards. Each one in a plastic protector with very high prices on them. “These cards are…rare. But not the level of rarity that I was promised.”
“Oh my dear sir,” said the shop keeper. “I am wounded, simply wounded that you would believe that we would just display our absolute finest where just anyone could see. No, this is just a test to see if you possess the keenest of eyes to discern our fair product! A test which you, yes you, have passed with flying colors. So allow me to show you our rarest cards.”
The rich man sighed. “I could do without the theatrics Flam,” he said as ‘Flam’ pulled out a box behind him. The box was set on the table before it was opened with an over the top motion that made Aria’s eyes roll. But then she saw something. Flam pulled out a coin from his pocket that seemed to-
“What is THIS!” roared the rich man as he held up a card. Aria’s widened when she saw it: the original Mushroom Man. A lame plant monster with no effect and 800 attack points! That was the rare card he was trying to pedal. “Is this some sort of joke?!”
“Oh no my good sir,” said Flam as he then flipped the coin in the air. Aria watched it, her eyes widening as she took in what was etched into the coin. Something familiar that she hadn’t seen in ages. It was a dragon, sleeping next to a large hoard of treasure. At first she tried to tell herself she was mistaken, that it couldn’t be the same coin. That it was just something that looked similar to that one. After all, how many thousands of years had it been since that coin had been created. Surely one of these damn monkeys would have thought to put a similar image on a coin simply because it looked ‘cool’.
Yet, those thoughts were blown away as the coin began to shine briefly and the rich man began to talk again. “I…I want it!” the man said, a panting now in his voice as he held the cheap card with both hands. There was a tremble in his body now and no doubt a look of utter greed in his eyes. “I need this card. It’s…It’s so perfect. I want it.”
“Yes, I know you do,” said Flam as he caught the coin easily. “But such a fine card does not come cheaply I’m afraid.” Aria watched without listening as Flam dulled out an insanely high price to which the rich man did not question. His focus was on the card alone, staring at it like it was some sort of magical ring that would grant ultimate power or something like that. By the time it was all over, Flam had taken everything from the rich man who walked out of the store still staring at the card.
“This footage was gathered thanks to our young associate Snails not too long ago,” said Cinch as she walked over to the hologram of Flam. “The man who purchased that card was Power Stride, a Pro-Duelist turned street bum as he had emptied out his bank account to purchase a card that costs, at most, three cents. His wife left him shortly after that and his three children are not talking to him or even bothering to try and find him since they had to drop out of college. He is just one of several victims in recent weeks of the Flim-Flam brothers.” She then stopped next to Flam, the image of the coin blowing up so that it was now as tall as her. “A few of their victims are right now trying to sue them to get back everything they lost, claiming that they were hypnotized into spending outrageous fees for substandard products.”
“Makes sense they would think that given that that’s one of the Coins of Sendak,” said Aria as she stepped forward.
“The what?” asked Adagio, sounding confused.
Aria shook her head a little. “Tirek talked about them a few times while we were dating,” she said before letting out a sigh. Slowly she turned to look at the assembled group. “The coins were a creation of his mentor, the centaur who taught him how to absorb the magic from other living things: Sendak the Elder.” Aria paused for a moment, watching as Adagio’s eyes widened at that before she continued. “In his early days, Sendak became curious about dragon greed growth. Wanting to study this in a controlled setting, he crafted two coins using rare metals only found in the mines of his homeland as well as ancient mystical arts he himself had created over the years. One had the ability to infuse a creature with greed while the other removed it. For several weeks he used the two coins on a baby dragon he had captured from the Dragon Lands, forcing it to greed grow and then shrink over and over again as he made notes on the process.”
“Whoa, that’s amazing!” exclaimed Snips, licking his lips in a greedy fashion.
“I guess, but what was the point?” asked Vignette.
Aria shrugged. “Who knows,” she said. “Maybe it was just curiosity. Or maybe he was planning on dethroning King Vorak and Queen Haydon with his own dragon army only to discover he couldn’t control them. What I do know is these studies were what eventually lead him into researching how to drain magic from other creatures to make oneself bigger and stronger.”
“I see,” said Cinch with a nod of what felt like approval. Not like Aria cared all that much about getting it from her. “So that’s all these coins do. At least, all they did in your world.”
“Hmmm,” came a sinister sound from Adagio as she looked at Cinch. “Coming here changed them? How so?”
For a moment, Cinch said nothing. She just stared at Adagio as if trying to decide if it was worth answering her. Then, at long last, she spoke. “From what I have gathered, the effects on most people are short term. Most of the time the greed effect lasts only for several hours, a day or two at most. However, if one of the brothers’ wins a duel then the effect becomes permanent. Either greedily desiring and hording something or simply willing to give away everything they own for next to nothing.” Cinch then looked at Aria once more. “I am curious how such items came to our world. So far, we have only seen pony artifacts and magic coming into this world. So how did centaur magic make it in here?”
“That’s easy,” said Aria as she crossed her arms. “Tirek told me that after Sendak was caught experimenting on ponies he was sentenced to the mines for the rest of his life. King Vorak then traveled to Equestria to make peace with the dumb ponies living there. No doubt he brought over all of Sendak’s research as a peace offering as well as the captured dumb pony. Knowing Starswirl the Breaded, he probably chucked it through the mirror the moment he saw it and decided to make the coins someone else’s problem.”
“To which we are thankful for,” said Cinch, a faint smile gracing her lips.
“Seriously, I can’t believe you dated that guy,” said Adagio as she closed her eyes, placing a hand on her forehead. “I mean, what did you ever see in that guy?”
“I needed an intelligent conversation every once in a while,” replied Aria. She then felt her cheeks turning red followed by looking away, staring at the floor as she continued. “That…and he had abs for days.” That caused Adagio to shudder.
“In any case,” said Cinch after coughing into her hand. “Thanks to my virus, I am aware that my former student is slowly becoming aware and suspecting the brothers of using magic. We should act now before she confirms her suspicions. Right now Flim is on the outskirts of the city making a purchase, putting him farther away from Twilight Sparkle’s range to detect magic. This makes him a prime target. Adagio, please make yourself useful and deal with-”
“Hold on,” interrupted Adagio. “Why do I have to do this? I tested the capture disk and gathered magic the last time we detected it. Send someone else this time! Like Aria. She’s got nothing better to do!”
Cinch opened her mouth to say something, but Aria beat her to the punch. “Fine, whatever,” she said as she turned around. “If it gets me away from all of you, I’m down for a duel.” Without looking back, she strode out of the room with the door closing behind her. Yeah, this day was just hell. Made all the worse by Adagio being the backstabbing bossy witch that she was. And surrounded by all these idiots and morons who just-
The door opened behind her, cutting Aria off from her inner rant. While she didn’t turn around, she found herself slowing down a bit as footsteps other than her own echoed through the halls. Coming closer to her. Was it Snips? Honestly, she could see that fat little worm following her under Adagio’s or Cinch’s orders. Or perhaps it was Vignette? She couldn’t see the former celebrity following her because she wanted to. Adagio? Maybe if she just wanted to rant and boss her around, but if it was her then she would be doing it right now.
“Mind if I come with you?” came a boy’s voice next to her. Aria blinked and looked to her side, seeing Snails walking besides her. “Just in case you need any help?”
“Not likely,” said Aria coldly, her voice causing the boy to stop in his tracks. She paused herself, looking at Snails as he stared at the ground while that dumb feeling appeared inside her again. The same damned feeling she had with Sonata. For a moment she stood there, staring at him before her face softened and she scratched her nose. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if he came with her. If by some chance she did lose, she might need a hand getting back to the base. And he wasn’t entirely useless or annoying. If anything, he was certainly more trustworthy than any other the other by simple virtue of being too stupid to come up with any devious backstabbing plans. Kind of like another person she knew…
“…But, if you want, you can come along,” said Aria as she quickly looked in front of her, her cheeks turning red for some reason while that feeling was quickly squashed. Damn that feeling. It was making this world feel more and more like hell.
-x-
“A pleasure doing business with you,” said Flim as he rolled up the recently signed contract. Next to him was a rare, top condition 1962 Ferrari GTO who, up until just now, had been in the possession of Crazy Wealth. Said Mr. Wealth and his wife stood in front of Flim looking completely at ease that they just sold off their prized car for only a nickel, both of them signing a contract agreeing to the terms.
Whistling a nameless tune, Flim hopped inside the car and drove away while kissing the dragon coin in his possession. As the large manor belonging to the Wealth family slowly shank in his rear view mirror, the man couldn’t help but toy with the thought that he could have taken everything they owned without so much as a peep from them. It would have been so easy too. All he had to do was duel one or both of them, and then they would be completely without greed or desire. Giving him everything they had just because he asked them too. Then he would have everything.
As the large mansions began to pass him by, Flim pulled out the gold coin from his pocket before holding it up in a way so that he could look at both it and the road at the same time. Almost an exact duplicate of the coin his dear brother had, only the dragon on this one was smaller and without a horde of treasure. Not like it matter to Flim as he kissed it, a smile appearing on his face as he remembered how he and his brother had acquired such a find. The coins had been part of an old coin collection belonging to a recently deceased man, his son bringing them to the pawn shop in the hopes that they were worth something. Both Flim and Flam had looked over the coins with only a few having any real value to them…until they spotted a thin, black box. Just looking at it, the brothers could tell there was something special about it for none of the other coins had been given such treatment. The two had to hold back their excitement and wonder as they opened it before the man, finding the two coins, sitting on red velvet cushions. Finding the designs on the coins curious and went to work, doing a quick search of the images to see if they had any historical significance as well as testing the metal to see what it was made of. At best, they had hoped that these coins were from some ancient civilization or had some other link to an important historical figure thus making them worth a small fortune. At worst, they could at least scrap the metal. Only, none of their tests could place the coins on the periodic table. It was like they were from another world! Not wishing to alert the customer to their find, the two paid him $400 for the entire collection as they knew the coins would certainly be worth a fortune once they confirmed their findings. The man did not look into this, only accepting the money before leaving without another word.
Now, the fortune they had envisioned from the sale of the coins seemed so tiny. It had been during one of their tests that they had unlocked the secret of the coins, showing the two their true potential! A scam artists dream come true if there ever was one! With these coins, they could ‘convince’ anyone they wished to part with their belongings or buy whatever junk they had.
Slowly, Flim lowered the coin as his eyes drifted over to the fancy houses passing him by on their many acres of lawn. How easy it would be for their owners to part with them. The only problem was Flam. Oh that brother of his, wanting to move around now that they had a good handle on their powers. But…why? The power they had could give them the easy life from here on out. No more elaborate hustles or cons. No more running from towns after they had been caught. No more tiny pawn shops hoping that someone else would drop something worthwhile into their laps. It had already happened! Their golden goose had finally come in and it was foolproof. Sure, some of their victims were gathering together to try and sue them but he knew they didn’t have a chance in hell. They could easily afford the best lawyers in the country right now!
As Flim rounded the corner, the setting sun to his back, he began to consider his future and his alone. He loved his dear brother for they had been working hand in hand since they were toddlers. But if Flam insisted on moving about, then Flim would have to put his foot down. After all, he did have the more powerful of the two coins. He could just go off on his own, leaving his brother to go where he pleased.
Or, he thought darkly as a wicked smile appeared on his face. I could just duel him and take his coin. With the power to make people greedy as well as the power to take away all their greed, I’ll be unstoppable! I could have everything! There’s nothing that can stop-
Flim’s thoughts came to a sudden halt, his eyes widening as he looked down the road. There, in the middle of the street was a girl. She stood there, motorcycle behind her as she looked at the incoming car with little to no reaction. In a burst of panic, Flim slammed on the brakes as he turned the wheel so that the car came to a screeching halt.
“Are you insane?!” yelled Flim as he got out of the car, heart racing as he slammed the car door. He had no idea who this brat was and he hoped that she wasn’t the daughter or granddaughter of one of the wealthy elite who lived in this part of the city. Sure, he could make people willing to give up everything they owned…but he wasn’t sure his power could stop the police from arresting him for vehicle manslaughter.
Still the girl said nothing, just eyeing him as Flim moved closer. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” roared Flim as he moved closer. “What are you doing here, in the middle of the street? Well?!?”
“Waiting for you and that magic coin,” replied the girl. Flim’s anger seemed to vanish on the spot while the sun finished sinking over the horizon. He stared at the girl, finagling noticing that she had on a odd looking duel disk.
“I…I don’t…What are you?” Flim stammered in shock as girl’s eyes narrowed on him. Or, to Flim’s horror, his pocket.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” said the girl as she crossed her arms. “I know full well you have the coin on you. The one that turns people into generous morons, completely devoid of greed or want. And so do my, urk, friends.”
Flim stood there for a moment before reaching behind him to pull out his duel disk. “You’ll never take it from me,” he said, activating the device.
The blank look on the girl’s face vanished slightly as she allowed herself to smile. “Oh good, we’re skipping all the ‘why should I duel you bit’,” she said with a laugh. None of which made her seem any less charming. Instead, it caused the hair on the back of Flim’s neck to stand on end. It took an effort for Flim not to reach out and clutch the area of his shirt above his heart. Yet he remained where he was.
“You seem to know about my coin,” said Flim, trying to sound tough. “I’ll drain you of all your greed and then you’ll tell me everything. How you know about it and how many others do as well! Then you’ll give me everything you have!”
“Yes,” said the girl as she closed her eyes, a smile still on her lips. “I’m well aware of what that coin can do to me. Then, she opened her eyes, and her smile vanished. She looked at him as if he were nothing but a tiny annoying fly, wanting to swat him a thousand times over. “But, that’s only if you can win this little duel.”
“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks while they were raised, their decks shuffled by the auto-shuffler. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” Between the two appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only on one side showing the girl along with her name under it: Aria Blaze. On the other side was one of the rare pictures that only had Flim on it. The image began to spin round and round, faster and faster as their duel disks shuffled their decks at an equally quick speed. Eventually the portraits stopped spinning, ending on Flim.
“Looks like I get to make the first move,” said Flim as he drew his opening six cards, their life points on their duel disks going up and stopping at 8000.
Aria rolled her eyes. “Obviously,” she said in a snarky tone.
“Hmp,” grunted Flim as he gazed at his hand. “Then perhaps this will help fix that bad attitude of yours. I play the spell card: Goblin Thief!” As the card appeared on the field, a fat goblin around the same size as his opponent appeared behind Aria. Before she realized what was happening, she was knocked over as goblin pushed her as he ran over to Flim. “This card takes 500 of your life points and gives them to me.” As he spoke, the goblin handed Flim a bag of coins which he accepted. Once he did, Flim’s life points went up to 8500 as the goblin exploded.
“Not very impressive,” said Aria as she stood, her life points at 7500.
Flim chuckled. “Trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet! Now I summon Shadowknight Archfiend in attack mode!” Grinning broadly, Flim watched as the knight chess piece appeared in front of him before it suddenly exploded. In its place was a bad winged monster with 2000 attack points. One of its hands had been replaced with a sword and the other a three-fingered claw-like weapon. Parts of the monster’s body were exposed; showing that underneath its silver armor was blue sinew.
“Impressed yet?” asked Flim as he took three more cards from his hand and set them in his spell/trap slots. “Well, you will be. I place three cards face down and end my turn!”
“Goodie for me,” droned Aria as she drew. Looking at the six cards in her hand, she let out a sigh. “I’ll start with my Tour Guide From the Underworld.” As she spoke, a black bus appeared near her. Its sudden appearance caused Flim to let out a yelp as he thought for a moment that they were going to be run over! Thankfully that didn’t happen as instead a red headed woman walked out of the bus wearing a blue tour guide uniform. Her attack wasn’t much, only 1000. “When she is normal summoned, I can special summon one level 3 fiend from my deck. Something like my Doomdog Octhros.” Appearing next to the Tour Guide was a large creature that didn’t exactly look like a dog. It was more of a black…thing with no eyes, only red paint on its body to form things like a skull with eye sockets. Its head was huge as were its fangs. Yet, even with all that, its attack was only 800.
“Now the stage is set,” said Aria, her tone dark as a spiral galaxy shaped portal appeared in the middle of the field. “With my two level three monsters I can build the overlay network! The song of doom plays for all the damned. Strum the guitar, adding to their woes. XYZ summon Rank 3: Muzurhythm the String Djinn!” As Flim took in this haunting chant, Aria’s two monsters were sucked into the portal before it suddenly exploded covering everything in darkness. Flim looked around trying to see anything at all but there was nothing! He even tried bringing up his own hand, hoping he could see that. But no, there was nothing. Then light appeared. A stage light shining on a black horned creature wearing a cowboy hat and a long brown coat. There was a rose coming out of the darkness that answered as his face and it held in its arms a double handle guitar. As light returned to the field, Flim saw that its attack points were only 1500.
“Is that the best you got?” asked Flim in an amused tone as he watched the two material orbs fly around the monster.
“For now,” said Aria as she pointed at the Shadowknight. “Muzurhythm, play him a tone worthy of hell!” At her command, the String Djinn began to strum his guitar faster and faster until Flim could see sound waves flying towards his monster. “At this point, I activate his effect. By removing one overlay unit, my Djinn’s attack is doubled!” Flim watched as Muzurhythm’s attack shot up as it quickly became 3000, the sound waves created by the guitar wielding demon becoming larger. As they drew closer to his Shadowknight, Flim felt himself being pushed back a little before the impact! Just imagine what the explosion would be like!
“Not bad sweetheart,” shouted Flim as he press a button on his duel disk. “Too bad for you I have a trap card: Draining Shield!” A barrier was created around Shadowknight, the sound waves striking it instead. “This handy, dandy little trap card not only protects my monster but also gives me more life points equal to your monster’s attack. So very kind of you.”
Aria’s eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Flim’s life points shoot up all the way to 11500. “Since the overlay unit I used was Doomdog Octhros, I can use his effect. When he leaves the field and hits the graveyard, I can add to my hand one level 8 fiend. Something like Dark Necrofear.” Aria waited a moment for her duel disk to finish shuffling, moving the named card to the top of her deck before slitting it out halfway. She then took it, adding it to her hand, before picking out two other cards. “Before I end my turn, I’ll place these two cards face down.”
“And as you end your turn, I activate my two face down cards!” announced Flim, now grinning broadly. “The first is the continuous trap Solemn Wishes. Each time I draw, this trap card will bless me with 500 more life points. But that isn’t all! Because my other card is Battle-Scarred! Another wonderful continuous trap card that locks onto my Shadowknight, making us both pay life point for the upkeep of the monster during each of our standby phases.
“Now I draw,” continued Flim, his grin turning into a smirk as he held in his hand two cards now. “Thanks to the effect of Solemn Wishes, I gain 500 more life points.” As he spoke, light began to shine upon him along with a sprinkle of water causing his life points to go up to 1200. “But alas, I must now pay life points in order to keep my Shadowknight on the field. At least I know I won’t be alone in this endeavor.” Still smirking, Flim watched as a claw stretched out of his Battle-Scarred trap all the way over to where Aria stood. The claw then slashed along her gut, ripping her clothing a little as well as leaving marks on her body while her life points dropped to 6600. As for Flim, an aura of green light surrounded his body before his life points dropped to 11100.
“The distance between us just seems to continue to grow,” said Flim. “And it will continue to do so as I play Pot of Desires. By banishing the top ten cards in my deck, it allows me to draw two more cards. You should know what that means.” Flim grinned as he removed the cards on the top of his deck before drawing twice, his body being showed by golden light as his life points rose to 11600. “Now I summon to the field Terrorking Archfiend in attack mode!” Next to Shadowknight appeared the king chess piece. Like with Shadowknight it shattered as another winged demon appeared from inside. This monster appeared more regal in appearance as he placed a large sword in front of him. He stood tall, his armor looking like jagged bones over purple exposed flesh. His attack points were 2000, same as Shadowknight. “Think this monster is strong now little lady? Well, he’ll be even stronger once I give him a dose of Riryoku! This one-of-a-kind spell card sucks up half of your monsters attack points and allows me to give them to Terrorking!”
Aria didn’t seem to flinch as a green aura surrounded her monster before flowing over to Terrorking. The Archfiend let out a mighty roar as he began to grow, doubling in size as his attack rose to 2750. As he grew, Aria’s monster shrank while also looking tired and worn out. This continued until Muzurhythm’s attack was down to 750.
“I do believe it’s time to battle,” said Flim with the upmost confidence. “Terrorking, show that little fella what a real demon is like!” Terrorking responded with a roar, its chest opening up as a swarm of locus flew out towards the smaller monster. Aria just stood there as her monster became covered by the insects, devoured and destroyed in the blink of an eye as her life points dropped to 4600. “Now Shadowknight, attack her directly!”
As Shadowknight lunged forward, its bladed arm outstretched, Aria pressed a button on her duel disk. “I don’t want to deal with this. I activate my trap card Zoma the Spirit.” Shadowknight halted in the middle of the field as gas began to form in front of Aria. The gas slowly began to solidify into a purple clawed creature in defense mode. Its defense was meager at only 500. “If your eyes are working, you should see a monster on my field. That’s because my trap card becomes a monster when activated.”
“Fine, fine,” laughed Flim as he looked at the trap monster. “Shadowknight, cut it down.” Shadowknight bent its oddly shaped legs before lunging again, easily cutting the monster in two…only for the creature to return to its gas like form.
“When Zoma is destroyed, you take damage equal to the attack of the monster that destroyed it,” said Aria, her face completely neutral as the gas flew into Shadowknight and then out again. Flim only had a moment to take a step back before he was hit, his attack dropping to 9600.
“Is that all?” asked Flim after taking a breath, slowly dusting himself off like it was nothing. Sure he felt some pain, but it had been minor. Yet he wasn’t going to let her know that. “Little lady, you’ll have to do better than that. Because I plan to keep taking from you as you are slowly dragged into the hell that is my deck.” A chuckle escaped Aria’s mouth, earning a raised eyebrow from Flim. Most people he had dueled since getting the coin quickly became terrified by this point. The vast difference in their life points, the pain they felt when taking damage, knowing more was to come. A few had even broken down crying, pleading for mercy. Now, Flim was willing to bet that there was a good chance that this girl had been in a duel like this before. After all, she seemed to know about the coin and what it could do. That or she was just acting tough. But he had never expected this sort of reaction.
His confusion only seemed to grow as her chuckle became a downright laugh, throwing her head back to look up at the darkened heavens. It was not of humor or insanity, instead it felt like evil mockery. A cold sweat began to form on Flim arms as he felt a chill running through him. Something that only seemed to grow all the more when she suddenly stopped laughing. Aria’s head lowered so that now she was looking at the ground.
“You think you know what hell is?” she asked in a dreadful voice. “Please, you don’t even know the meaning of the word. I live in hell every single day.” Slowly, she raised her head, her eyes now narrowed in a hateful manner that made all her other features seem like a twisted mockery. “I used to live in a world of magic, power all around me as plentiful as water. I had power then. I had true freedom, going wherever I pleased and doing whatever I wanted. Then, in a single instant, I lost nearly everything. For centuries I had to watch it, holding on to what little magic I had as I felt like I was slowly dying of hunger. What little I could get was only just enough to keep me going until the next day while I dealt with a bossy bitch and a clueless idiot. I used to think it couldn’t get any worse. But now I see how wrong I was. Now I’m powerless, stuck in a body that is now slowly aging.” Aria leaned forward, flinging her arms out as she did so. “This is hell! To go from almost all powerful to a tiny speck, watching the sands of time flicker before you!”
“…Okay,” said Flim, his voice sounding unsteady even to him. “I’ll just…end my turn.”
“As you do, I activate my other face down: Destiny Board!” announced Aria as her card flipped up. A moment later an Ouija Board appeared above the girl’s head, the planchette already moving to the letter F by a ghostly hand. When it stopped, a ghost rose up from the board holding the same letter before simply hovering there. “I hope you know what this means. The life point difference between us now means nothing. Once all five letters appear, it will be the end for you. You will lose instantly!”
“Hmp, that’s only if you can manage it,” replied Flim, a bit of his confidence returning. “All I have to do is take out that one card and all your letters are destroyed. Then again, with the way things are going right now, I might not even have to do even that. Your life points will be gone before you can even get your third letter!”
“Lets see if you can. I draw!” shouted Aria, her draw being so powerful that it sent a chilling wind towards Flim. One that so cold that he could not help but shiver as Aria looked at the five cards in her hand. “Now my Destiny Board gives me another letter.” Above her head, the planchette began to move again. When it stopped, a ghostly I rose up in the grip of a vile spirit.
“I activate my field spell: Dark Sanctuary,” continued Aria as the field spell slot in her duel disk opened up. After closing it, the sky turned from black to blood red and the stars were replaced by giant teeth and eye balls. The street beneath Flim’s feet transformed into a more rocky version of itself while a castle appeared in the distance behind Aria. Only, it didn’t look like most castles Flim had seen in this game. Rather than looking like it was made of brick or something similar, it appeared to him like it had been chiseled out of a mountain. A wind swept over him again and Flim quickly brought a hand to his mouth to keep from vomiting. There was a vile odor in the air as if there were thousands of decaying carcasses.
“With this pleasant change of scenery out of the way, I remove three fiends in my graveyard in order to special summon Dark Necrofear in attack mode!” The three monsters in Aria’s graveyard were removed as another ghostly figure appeared on her side of the field. Slowly it too form, becoming a blue skinned woman with red eyes and pointed ears. Her body looked like it had been stitched together in places like her neck and arms with her stomach was wide open showing it to be hollow like a mannequin. And in her arms was a broken doll whose head began to spin around, laughing insanely. Flim gulped both in fear of the sight before him as well as her attack points: 2200. More than enough to take down either of his monsters.
“But I’m not done,” continued Aria as she slid the removed cards back into her graveyard slot. “By returning three removed fiends back into my graveyard, I’m allowed to special summon another fiend from my hand: Curse Necorfear!” Flames appeared around Dark Necorfear, only she didn’t burn. The flames turned blue as they moved next to her, slowly taking the form of the monster they had come from. She looked almost exactly like Dark Necorfear, even down to the doll she was holding but never did she seem to solidify like the original. Her body continued to flicker like flames on a long and her attack points were 2800!
Aria let out a chuckle. “Feel the fear my monsters bring,” she said, her voice sounding more sadistic. “Dark Necrofear, destroy his Terrorking!” Twin red beams shot out of Dark Necorfear’s eyes, burning a hole through Flim’s monster. Flim could smell the scent of fried bugs, a welcome relief at the moment, before his Terrorking exploded and his life points dropped to 9400.
“When my Terrorking is destroyed, I can discard my Desrook Archfiend to bring him back,” countered Flim as he slid his last remaining card in hand to the graveyard. “Only this time he’ll be back in defense mode!” Like that, Terrorking was back on the field.
“Curse Necrofear, remove his Shadowknight from my sight!” Aria’s words had a horrible bite to them as Curse Necrofear turned into blue flames again which flew across the field. These flames entered Shadowknight and before Flim knew what was happening, his monster’s body began to crumble while blue flame began to come out of every opening. The red headed man let out a scream of fear as his life points dropped to 8600 while at the same time his Battle-Scarred trap exploded as well. When the attack was over, Flim stumbled back while Curse reformed on Aria’s side of the field.
“Look at you,” said Aria, all humor gone from her voice as her expression returned to its original, emotionless tone. Breathing a little harder now, he looked at her to find her barely glancing back as if he were some bug barely worth her notice. “You were ended your last turn so sure of your victory, so confident that your ‘power’ would help you win. Now here you are. Hand empty. A single monster and plenty of meaningless life points. All you can do now is struggle as you wait for your inevitable end.”
“Shows what you know!” shouted Flim, hot air blowing out of his nostrils. “I’ll beat your little destiny board. And I have just the card to do it!” As he spoke, he thought of the card in question: Spell Shattering Arrow. The perfect card to turn the tables on this little girl. It was a powerful card that destroyed all of his opponents spell cards and would then deal her 500 points of damage for each. Sure, it wouldn’t get rid of her Destiny Board, but it would give him time and deal damage. Plus, if she no longer had any more of those letters then her goose would be cooked for sure.
“That’s assuming you didn’t banish it when you drew those cards,” said Aria, causing Flim to grow pale. He…He hadn’t thought of that. Briefly he glanced down at his deck while a tremble ran through his body. He needed to draw that card. He needed to get more cards in his hand period! But his only draw card was Pot of Desires. Each time he used it, there was a chance that he’d banish the card he needed! “I set one card face down and end my turn.”
“F-Fine. I draw,” said Flim who slowly drew his card with his eyes closed. Bit by bit, he brought the only card in his card up to his face, slowly opening his eyes to peek at what he drew. Finally, he opened them to see that it wasn’t his Spell-Shattering Arrow nor Pot of Desire. But it wasn’t a bad card. As he looked at it, he felt his Solemn Wishes activating as an almost heavenly glow surrounded him and bathed him in light while his life points rose to 9100. But, a moment later, that glow vanished as the cost of his Terrorking kicked in, his life points dropping to 8300.
“I equip my Terrorking with the Axe of Despair which raises his attack points by 1000!” declared Flim as a large axe appeared before Terrorking. The lone fiend dropped his sword to pick up the axe which had a shrunken head within the handle near the blade. Once he took ahold of it, energy wrapped around him to raise his attack all the way to 3000. “Now time for battle! I’ll take a good chunk of your life points by destroying Dark Necrofear.”
“You fool,” said Aria as Terrorking’s chest opened up. Flim grinned, ready for his attack to go through and destroy her monster…only to have a ghostly head shoot out from the back of his Archfiend and strike him in the chest.
“W-What was that?!?” howled Flim as he stumbled back, his life points dropping to 6800. Tears were forming in his eyes as he felt like a horse had kicked him in the gut.
“My field spell isn’t just for show,” said Aria. “Each time you attack, there is a 50/50 chance that it will be negated and half of your monster’s current attack will be dealt to you as damage. If we were doing this without duel disks, I would have had to flip a coin. But thanks to technology, the computer did it for me.”
“No…no,” gasped Flim as he tried to stand. “My monster has an effect. It should have protected me. Or at least given me a chance to-”
“Against effects that target, yes,” interrupted Aria. “I am aware of your Archfiend’s effects, a dice roll to see if you can negate targeted effects. Only my field spell doesn’t target.” She then paused for a moment to let out a sigh. “I do think you got off lucky. Had that attack succeeded, then there was a chance that my monster would have possessed your Terrorking thus making it mine.” Flim’s eyes widened at that as his body began to feel so very heavy. This…This didn’t seem fair! If he attacked then he would either lose life points or his monster. Well, if her monster targeted his then he might have a chance to protect it. But if he didn’t attack, he’d just be a sitting duck as his life points were depleted by his own monsters and her Spirit Letters continued to grow. He…He needed his Spell Shattering Arrow! Now!
“I…I end my turn,” whimpered Flim.
“I draw,” said Aria coldly. As she held the two cards in her hand, the planchette on the Ouija board began to move again, stopping on the letter N. From there another ghostly specter holding a large letter N in his hands appeared above Aria and the board.
“Hmm, what was it you said to me before?” asked Aria, a small trace of mockery in her voice. “Oh yes. You said that you would have taken away all my life points before I got my third letter. Yet here I still stand, closer to victory. I end my turn.”
Flim’s eyes widened. With a trembling hand he drew his next card as a duo of effects activated. First he was showered with more life points thanks to Solemn Wishes, going all the way up to 7300. But then came his Terrorking, taking away 800 of those life points so that he was down to 6500. Slowly he looked at the card, hoping that it was his Spell Shattering Arrow. Only it wasn’t. It was another copy of Riryoku. Normally he’d be happy to see this, but right now there was too much risk. If the attack failed them he would just lose more life points. Then again, if he succeeded then Dark Necrofear would just take his monster. And he didn’t want to think about what Curse would do to him!
Fear began to overtake Flim as he gripped his head with both his hands, fingers running through his hair. He was trapped. There was no way out of this. Attacking was pointless because even if everything went right, there was no way he could reduce her life points to zero before she got her fifth letter in two turns! Could he stall? Not for very long as he still had only two turns! If only he could get more. But he had no way of blocking her spell…and trap…zone…
Slowly the red haired man looked up, spotting the face down Aria had set not too long ago. It was still there! Maybe it was some sort of protection for her Destiny Board but, like a fool, she had forgotten that she needed all five spots in her spell/trap card zone! Flim almost began to grin but stopped himself. No, he needed to wait. He didn’t know anything about Destiny Board so he didn’t know if it was an optional effect. He needed to wait, have her place her fourth letter in her spell/trap card zone so that they would be full. Then, she would have to wait till she could find a way to remove that last spot. That would give him time at the very least to see if he could draw that card!
Hope began to spring up within Flim as his lips twitched in eagerness to smile. He could see light at the end of the tunnel, he was out of this nightmare. His lips were twitching madly, a laugh caught in his throat as he looked at the field as if he were seeing it for what it really was for the first time! He could see Aria’s limitations, her mistakes, his victory! Dark Necrofear became like an equip card, it needed to if it wanted to possess his Terrorking. Well, with all her spell and trap card slots taken up she couldn’t use its effect. Meaning he was safe from it! She should have attacked during her last turn when she had the chance, so that she could have attacked him with both monsters and dealing him 5800 points of damage! Sure, she would have had to give up her instant win but she had already given it up with that face down. What a fool! All he had to do was pass turn, wait until the letter appeared, and he was safe.
“I end my turn,” Flim said, his voice awkward.
“Fine, whatever,” said Aria as she drew. Flim’s eyes moved quickly from the three cards Aria now held to the planchette as it moved. His eyes must have looked mad, but he didn’t care. Nor did he care how his smile was slipping to the forefront as the Spirit Letter I appeared on her field.
“YOU FOOL!” shouted Flim loudly, bringing a hand over his face as laughter erupted like mad. “Now all you’re spell and trap zones are filled. There’s no way you can finish this duel! And on my next turn, I’ll be sure to start taking back control of this duel!”
“Oh really?” said Aria in a tone that made Flim’s laughter die instantly. He looked at the girl as his fear began to return in full force, seeing Aria appearing completely calm. So calm, in fact, that new terror crept over him. “Well, I can see how you would think that. But, there are two flaws in your theory. The first being that I need spell/trap zones.”
“What?!?” snapped Flim as he took a step back. “Of course you need spell/trap card zones. All of your letters are-”
“Spell cards,” interrupted Aria. “And, if this had been a few years ago, you would have been correct. However, the introduction of Dark Sanctuary changed all that. Along with the protection it offers me, it also allows me to place my Spirit Letters in my monster zones where they’ll have 0 attack and defense. But, good news for me, you can’t attack them there or destroy them with effects. Of course, if they were the only cards on my field, you could just attack me directly. To be honest, the only reason I haven’t done it is because you’re not worth the effort. Not with skills as pitiful as yours.”
“Then,” began Flim, realization dawning on him as he gulped. Slowly he looked down at his duel disk, his focus primarily on his deck. “Then I only have one more turn.”
Aria let out a humorless chuckle. “And that there was your second flaw,” she said as she pressed a button on her duel disk. “You’re not getting another turn because I activate my trap card: Sentence of Doom.” As the card flipped face up, Flim felt his knees growing weak without knowing why. Tears began to appear on his face, rolling down to his chin as he looked on in horror. “This card has two effects, but I only need one. I can send this face up card to the graveyard in order to add one Spirit Letter to my spell/trap card zone. Meaning this duel ends now.”
Flim let out a scream as he turned to run. So quick was this motion that he found himself on the ground, face first. But he didn’t care, Flim just pushed himself off the ground before lunging forward like a track star would have done as he made a mad dash for the car. His blood was pounding in his ears while the only other sound he could hear was the moving of the planchette. His face was the perfect mask of horror as more tears poured from his eyes, pathetic noises that he would have otherwise mocked had they not come from his own throat. But none of that matter. All Flim cared about was getting into the car before the final letter appeared and driving away. To find his brother and warn him. Warn him of the monster he had just dueled so that they could prepare.
Yet, it was too late. Before Flim could take more than three steps, he felt something grab his leg. He fell to the ground once again, desperately trying to kick whatever had him off without looking. His hands reached out before him, trying to find something to grab onto to and pull himself forward. When this didn’t work, Flim found himself forced to look back so that he could pry the grip off him. But what he saw horrified him to no end for coming out of the ground was a skeletal hand. Flim let out a scream of horror, trying to hold on to whatever was left of his sanity as he turned over to begin frantically trying to free himself. But as he did this, more hands came out of the ground. Those demonic boney arms and hands grabbed him by the legs, the arms, the neck, and even on both side of the head so that he was forced to stare up at the nightmarish sky. A sad whimper escaped him followed by more pathetic noises as he tried to wiggle his way free while the letter L appeared above Aria’s head.
The girl said nothing more as the ghosts who had been holding the letters sprung to life. They flew above Flim looking horrible and wretched. The spirits grinned at him, raising their clawed hands up as they circled him like vultures circling a creature about to die. Flim screamed once more, a wordless thing really, as he watched the ghosts descend upon him until he could scream no more.
-x-
“Let’s get going,” said Aria as the magic of the coin was captured into her duel disk, her eyes closed as she turned away from the thing that had been Flim. He was alive, but for how much longer…well, who could say really? If he was lucky, someone might come driving by and stop in time before calling him an ambulance. But that would be where his luck ended, of that she was sure. Hmm, but that face he had made at the end was something she would treasure for days to come. The look of hope shattered as the horror of the situation was spelled out to him, sending him into his own personal hell.
“Right,” said Snails as he slid into the sidecar. He watched her as she put on her helmet, doing her best to make sure her hair wouldn’t get in the way as she drove. It was somehow annoying her to no end. Which was odd because she had been watched like this plenty of times before. Maybe it was just the dumb look he had, like he was trying to work up the courage to ask her something. Damn it! He better not start whining about what she did to that guy or-
“I’m sorry,” he said before looking forward.
“…About?” asked Aria slowly as she eyed him.
“For all you lost and feeling like you’re in hell,” he said simply. “It must be hard on you.”
For a moment, Aria wanted to tell him ‘no shit’ or something like that. But that strange feeling began to reappear in her chest as she looked at the boy. It wasn’t love, she was sure of that. Yet it felt like she needed to say something. As she stared at him, she thought about how he had offered to come with her. How he didn’t annoy her by asking to stop to go to the restroom every five minutes or to get a snack or whatever. In fact, the trip had been silent and, well, peaceful. Then she thought back to Sonata and her gift of free food for a former sister. Was she feeling regret or was it…
“Some days are more bearable than other,” she said finally as she got on the bike. “Just depends who I’m with, how much they annoy me. That sort of thing.” Snails didn’t say anything, only nodding as if he understood something as they began to drive away from the scene.
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nice duel between Aria and Flim (excellent deck choices, by the way 😅): wonder if we'll see Flam duel at some point; side note: between her interactions with Snails and Sonata, it seems to me that Aria might be starting to grow a conscious and/or appreciate friendship in the same way that Sonata has: i can't wait to see how this might affect things as we move forward... 😁
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Oh yes, Flam will not let this stand. I also enjoyed writing about Aria's prior love life
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(nods) indeed: can't wait to see what he ends up doing...
(nods) yeah, that WAS kind of fun... 😅
was I the only one thinking aria would get a volcanic deck?
Cool chapter and interesting choices for decks. Wouldn't have figured a Destiny Board deck would work so well for Aria
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Sorry, but her cold and mostly emotionless personality didnt feel suited for a volcanic deck
Can't believe I missed this.
So, we finally found out why Aria dated Tirek...and I really didn't know what I was expecting but somehow that makes sense.
The duel felt a little one sided, but I get what you were going for. Flim was more focused on keeping his life points high with Aria more focused on the end. It was also some good horror, sort of a ticking clock for Flim and feeling helpless. Good stuff.
Hopefully the next duel is a bit more action packed.
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Now that we've seen all the Mane Seven duel, do you think we should see the CMC dueling a bit for some light hearted action?